3 Responses to “Mmm…”

I think one of the things I need to do is remove this rape scene. I’m beginning to realize how often rape is used in stories as some mean of “strengthening” a female character, but I’ve now co e to understand that that’s just bad writing.

“Well, the whole ‘raping women’ thing is beyond played out. What about a woman with one or more disabilities, which she overcomes or, better yet, uses to her advantage? A really fat woman? A woman who is not white or attractive or ‘sexy’? Maybe she has no hair and a big scar on her head, or is paraplegic, or is trans (!), genderqueer, or… ?

What about a woman who’s character is not centered around her sexuality or her physical attractiveness?” — guest

“I have a suggestion. Don’t use rape modifiers. Rape is rape. The circumstances surrounding the rape don’t lessen the fact of it. Things like “near rape,” “date rape” or “drunk rape” only serve to minimize the violence and seriousness of the act and shift the blame from the perpetrator to the victim. I am not trying to “put you on blast,” as the kids say, I’m just trying to give you something to think about.” — lknope

I think the first frame with Thad raping Anne just isn’t appropriate anymore. Even though it wasn’t meant to “strengthen” Anne–rather, it shows that Anne is all fucked up inside and prefers to bury it deep inside–I still think it’s an overused trope and one done in bad taste.

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ADDITIONAL [20120620.0113]:
I only just learned about the whole “Dickwolves” debacle from Penny Arcade. More of a reason for me to edit this scene a bit. Not that I think that the scene supports “rape culture” but… it just doesn’t seem to work right for me.

Something to consider:
* “It’s disgusting, for one thing, and for another thing it very clearly and definitively ties male sexual prowess to power and dominance over another person, and that does have an impact on who does and does not rape. It’s the very definition of rape.” — [source]

It’s not that I’m gonna self sensor myself and remove all instances of “rape” or whatnot from the story. Anne still gets raped at a party and that’s how she loses her virginity, and now she has that hanging over her head. However, I think I should keep all the details concerning rape and “rape culture” in mind; as in, consider that there is more behind Thad’s actions and mentality than just a “simple raping”.